No matter how great your training may be, you are not your company’s best salesperson. That title goes to your customers.

Surprised? Let us explain. Consumers are becoming more and more sceptical of advertising and celebrity endorsements; they now demand something authentic from the brand. Now, with the Web 2.0 being dominated by consumers themselves, user-generated content (UGC) is on the rise and according to Crowdtap, consumers trust it 50% more than they do other media. In addition, shoppers who consume UGC are 97% more likely to convert than those who do not, according to Business Insider.

That means if you don’t use UGC to your advantage, you will likely miss out on a significant amount of potential sales.

Digging Deep: What’s so Appealing About UGC?

So why is UGC so powerful? It’s centred around you, the user.

UGC is also effective because as mentioned, authenticity resonates. People are interested in what their family and friends say about the products they use or services they receive. It’s also because of social platforms like Facebook and Twitter that our eyes and brains are constantly set to see real content from real people.

User reviews are common in e-commerce sites, too, and it has a huge impact on the users’ purchasing decisions.

Start Taking Advantage of UGC

To take advantage of the power of UGC, create opportunities for content creation instead of directly creating the content. Instead of simply “telling”, create opportunities for conversation, too.

Take Coca-Cola. Early this year, they set up a competition where participants were asked to take a video explaining why they love Coke. According to the IMC Director of the brand, the competition resulted in six million online mentions and 92% savings from new marketing ideas because everything is generated by their target audience.

Competition in the digital marketing space is hot, which means it is more important than ever to make sure your content stands out. Perhaps incorporating UGC into your strategy is the way to go.

Viper Online Marketing can help, with our expertise in content strategy and search engine optimisation. When you work with us, you can expect greater visibility, multiple high rankings, more traffic and increased revenue. Call us today for a consultation.